White Pine
by crypticxmetaphor
Summary: Cameron Romero just gets it. But after meeting Dylan Massett she begins to re-evaluate her decisions: she likes him, but his family is more fucked up than hers.
1. Chapter 1

There was a new kid in class. I studied him from my back corner seat where I sat with the collar of my leather jacket pulled up to my chin. He was tall and scrawny and looked like he still should've been in junior high. His name was Norman Bates and apparently his mother had just bought Keith Summer's motel. Normally I wouldn't have even been in Language Arts, but I could only miss ten days of school this year or next year I'd be a super senior.

At lunch I sat by myself. I had one friend in the school and she had the second lunch period. I'm not complaining, I put myself in this position because freshman year I learned nearly everyone in the town of White Pine Bay was a shithead. I stared across the cafeteria to where Norman was also sitting by himself, but he seemed more upset about it. It was strange because Bradly Martin had been so obsessed with him. I thought she was making him her latest pet project. Yet while I was content with my thoughts and crunching my Lays potato chips one at a time, he was staring off into space. He had dark circles under his skin, which had taken on a rather gray pallor, and his bangs stuck to his forehead with sweat. Suddenly, he pushed back from the table and sprinted out of the cafeteria as though his life depended on it.

Curiosity overwhelmed me and I followed upstairs where I found him with his head in a trash can. The sound of retching echoed from the inside of the bin.

"You okay?" I asked when he pulled his head out. "You look like a corpse."

From the way he was taken aback, I could see that he knew who I was. I held the reputation of the school weirdo. "I'm fine," he whispered. "Thank you."

"Make sure you're finished," a girl with an oxygen tank appeared at my shoulder. "Don't just stop because it's embarrassing."

I laughed because it was such an Emma thing to say.

Norman nodded. "I-I'm finished."

Emma offered him a mint and introduced herself.

"Well, I just wanted to make sure you were okay and you're in good hands now, so I guess I'll see you around," I excused myself.

The main problem with having to go to school was there were less hours for me to work and less money that I could make. White Pine Bay wasn't too expensive of a town, but being seventeen and having to pay rent and my cell phone bill and groceries and utilities was overwhelming. And tonight my father was taking me out to dinner.

"How are you?" Sheriff Romero asked.

"Fine," I shrugged. I always found these dinners awkward because my mom didn't know about them. And he always offered to help me out with the rent, but I couldn't tack money from him. It made me feel sick.

"Have you met Norma and Norman Bates?" he asked. "They bought Keith's motel. I think Norman is in school with you?"

I nodded. "Yeah. He's kinda weird. He threw up during lunch today and it looks like he hasn't slept in a week, but they've only been here for two days."

My dad grunted in agreement. "He was pulling up carpet with his mom at two in the morning."

I shrugged, that didn't sound weird at all. "That's when I get all my work done cause I'm the only one awake."

He considered it for a moment, finally acquiescing that I had a point, but also adding that Keith Summers hadn't been seen in a couple days either.

The sun is warm as it should be at the end of September. I was enjoying it on my work break, but I couldn't get my cigarette to light. The lighter kept fizzling out, unable to sustain a flame long enough for it to catch.

"Here let me help you," a young man offered me his lighter. He was only a couple years older than me and extraordinarily handsome with short blond hair and pale, blue eyes. He wore a leather jacket and sported scruff along his strong jaw.

I held my cigarette in my mouth while he lit it for me. "Thanks," I said, exhaling smoke.

"Anytime. Dylan Massett," he held out his hand.

"Cameron Romero," I shook it. "So you work for Gil?" I comment, realizing that he had gotten out of Ethan's truck.

"You know about Gil?" he asked, lighting a cigarette of his own.

I chuckled. "Everyone knows about Gil, the civilians just like to look the other way. You're new, kid, but you'll figure out that you moved to a pretty fucked up town."

"Kid?" it was his turn to laugh. "You're what? Four years younger than me?"

"But I'm wise beyond my years," I leaned back on the bench, this time when I exhaled smoke, I blew it in his direction.

"Really now?" he smirked.

I bit my lip. "Yeah, buy me a drink and you'll learn that I know everything."

He took me back to his house since every bar in town new I was the sheriff's daughter and the sheriff's daughter is only seventeen. I was startled to find myself outside of the Seafairer Motel. He had said his last name was Massett, not Bates.

"So are you only half a Bates?" I had to ask as we walked inside. The house was much bigger up close. It was one of the oldest buildings in town and I had never been inside, not even when it foreclosed and stood unoccupied for three months.

He shook his head as he took my jacket from me. "Not a Bates at all. Norma left my dad for Norman's dad. She took his last name."

"Ah that sucks. Where's your dad now?" I pried further, nodding when he presented a bottle of whiskey.

"Dead," he answered curtly as he poured.

I rested a hand on the middle of his back. "I'm sorry." My eyes drifted over to a record player and I couldn't help but leave him.

Dylan noticed where my attention had gone and picked up a Led Zeppelin record. "Music?"

I smiled at his choice and nodded. He put the record on and soon the melody filled the living room. Holding my drink in one hand, I used my free hand to tug on the hem of his shirt. He took my free hand in his and spun me around. I couldn't help but to giggle. It had been so long since I had been intimate with anyone. He goes to spin me again, but I stop.

"You're eyes are sad," I said.

He motioned to the pictures lined up behind the couch. They are all of Norman and their mother, not one is of Dylan. "I'm trying not to think about how fucked up my family is."

As he said it, a blond woman in a silk bathrobe descends the stairs. The old wood creaks, calling my attention to her.

"What are you doing?" she asked Dylan. "It's the middle of the night."

"Just having a cocktail and listening to some of the pervious owner's old music with Cam," Dylan shrugged. "You?"

Her eyes shifted over to me and if looks could kill… She wrapped her robe tighter around herself and crossed her arms over her chest. "You brought a girl home," she comments curtly.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Bates," I apologized, grabbing my jacket from the coat. "I'll leave."

"I think that would be best," she said, pursing her lips.

"Bye, Dylan." I gently touch his arm.

He placed his hand on top of mine, not letting me go. "You don't have to leave," he told me; and then to his mom: "She's my guest."

"It's my house," she replied.

I wrenched my hand free of his. "I'll see you later, Dylan," I promised, smiling sweetly at him.

In school, I saw Emma speaking with Norman. I had wanted to call Dylan, but I didn't have his number so my brain told me that his half-brother would be good enough. When I got closer, I saw that Norman was actually freaking out.

"Hey," I butted in, placing myself next to Emma. "Hi, Norman."

"Hi," he said, curtly.

"Can you do me a favor?" I asked. "Can you tell Dylan we're cool?" I was worried he didn't want to contact me after their mother had kicked me out.

Norman nodded. "What's his new job?"

"What?" I was not expecting the question. "His new job?" School was not the place to reveal that Dylan was working for one of the drug-lords; not somewhere that was coated in tiles and ever cadenced echoed a thousand times.

"He said he had a job this morning," Norman explained. "He said it was doing nothing."

"I don't know," I lied.

"Yeah, well, alright. I have to get to class." He ran away.

When he had disappeared into the crowd of our peers, Emma and I walked to class. "You like him," I smirked.

Cam didn't admit to anything. "Who's Dylan?" Emma asked instead.

"Just a guy," I shrugged. "Who happens to be hot as balls."


	2. Chapter 2

I got out of work and I had a voicemail on my phone from a number I had never seen before.

"Hey, it's Dylan. Uh, Norman said you talked to him about me? I'm sorry. I was kinda embarrassed about the way Norma treated you. She's crazy. The cops were actually at our house today, but uh, yeah. If you wanna come by this afternoon, or whatever. You've got my number now."

I laughed. Boys were always the same. Nonetheless, I hopped into my Jeep and headed towards the motel. There had never been a guy in White Pine Bay that had been able to hold my interest. So even if his family was insane, I planned on giving him a chance.

I pulled up outside of the motel, parking haphazardly when I saw him sitting outside of the motel. I figured because it wasn't opened it wasn't like I was stealing spots from someone else. I jumped down, out of the Jeep, the gravel crunching beneath my feet. "You still wanna hang out?" I asked.

He smirked and patted on of the chairs next to him. It was one of those metal, pastel patio chairs form the seventies.

I sat down and the metal immediately began seeping in through my jeans. A shiver ran through my body that I couldn't conceal. Dylan laughed and, tugging on my hand, pulled me onto his lap.

"Better?" he asked.

"Better," I nodded, pulling out a cigarette.

The door to the room we were sitting outside of peeled open. My head whipped towards the noise, not expecting someone to have been inside. The blond woman from the other night stepped outside, struggling to put on a burgundy coat. Her hair was mostly clipped up, but there were fly-aways that proved she had just has sex.

"Hello there Norma," Dylan smirked. "How are those new linens working out for you?"

Zack Shelby stepped out from the room behind her and my laughter caught in my throat.

"This is my son, Dylan," Norma huffed. "And this is Zack Shelby, and uh, Cam?"

"Cameron Romero," I leaned over from Dylan's lap and offered my hand to her. "Sorry we weren't properly introduced."

She shook my hand as though it were toxic waste.

"Hey, Zack," I grinned up at the handsome man who used to babysit me and noticed for the first time that he looked quite similar to Dylan; with the same square jaw and broad shoulders.

"Hey, Cam," he smiled back.

"Romero?" Norma finally picked up on my name. "You're the sheriff's daughter."

"One and only," I boasted, thinking about how my mother would cringe.

Dylan chuckled and deliberately placed one of the hands that were on my waist on my knee.

"Uh, I'm gonna go get my car," Norma excused herself, clearly uncomfortable about the situation.

I hoped to God it was because she felt like the odd man out.

"Is he okay?" Dylan asked me, referring to Zack.

I knit my eyebrows together. He was in the weed business, but he apparently hadn't figured it out yet. "No one is okay," I said. "In this town, everyone's dirty."

Dylan's point of view

Cameron sat down on the chair and immediately shivered from the cold metal. I had to laugh. She drove around without a roof or doors on her orange Jeep, but a chair made her cold. I reached over and, grabbing her hand, tugged her towards me. She allowed me to pull her onto my lap and I wrapped my arms around her stomach. She was so casual and easy to be around and she smelt like flowers and cigarette smoke and I knew that I needed to be with her.

"Better?" I asked.

"Better," she echoed and reaching into her jacket pocket, brought out a cigarette. I couldn't pull my eyes from her lips as she effortlessly places the cigarette in her mouth, holding it there as it lit.

The motel room door opened, startling me. I knew Norma was in there, but I figured she'd be in there all night, fucking that cop. "Hello there, Norma," I announced myself. "How are those new linens working out for you?"

She whipped around towards us, caught entirely off guard and before she could bitch me out, Shelby exited the room.

"This is my son, Dylan," she introduced us awkwardly. "And this is Zack Shelby, oh and um, Cam?"

I grimaced, she didn't actually forget Cameron's name, but Cam took it in stride. She reached forward, offering her hand to Norma and I liked the way her hips pressed into mine.

"Cameron Romero, I'm sorry we weren't properly introduced before."

Grimacing, Norma shook Cam's hand.

Cam then turned to Shelby. "Hey Zack," she nodded at him.

I didn't like the way he smiled back at her. It was a small town, I figured they knew each other, but the idea of them being friends pissed me off. I moved one of my hands from around Cam's waist and placed it on her leg, just above her knee.

"Romero?" Norma spoke again. "You're the sheriff's daughter."

"One and only!" Cam responded, leaning back into me and I felt myself relax a bit.

"Uh, I'm gonna go get my car," Norma scurried away from us and Shelby followed.

"Is he okay?" I asked Cameron because he seemed like a dick.

She paused to consider my question. "No one is okay. Everyone's dirty here."

I sat down at the restaurant table across from my father and I instinctively go through the questions in my head and the appropriate answers. I had been going to school, but I went through it in a daze. I doubted that I had been taught anything since the first day of school over a month ago.

But my father seemed distracted, not as concerned with my academics as he should have been. I was disappointed. In fact, I felt let down that I wasn't absorbing all of his attention. I twiddled my thumbs as we waited for our entrees. He used the lull to ask about the Bates again.

"Listen, I don't know shit," I said, shaking my head. "I only know Dylan and you don't want to know about Dylan."

He scoffed. "I want to know about Dylan if the two of you are together."

I wanted only to sneer at him. I hated it when he tried to be a father because he didn't even try to stand up to me when my mother kicked me out. But at the same time he truly cared about me; he just happened to be missing a backbone. "We're not," I told him. "And he's not crazy like the others. He's not a Bates."

"I'm just trying to do my job," Dad sighed.

"I get that," I said. "But Norma is a bitch and Dylan is just trying to make his life work. Please, don't interrogate me."

The conversation was brought to an end when the waitress brought our food. The smell of steak made me forget that I was angry at him. It was the one proper meal I ate a week and on the off chance I had extra money left over to buy fresh meat, I spent it on chicken where I could get more protein for a dollar.

My cell phone rang, the name Dylan popped up onto the screen. It gave me the option to slide to answer or I could hit the lock button and ignore it. "I'm sorry," I told my dad. "Just a minute." I grabbed the phone, sliding my thumb along the bottom of the screen as I was instructed, I took as many steps as I could towards the restrooms so I wouldn't be overheard.

"You say you know everything." was the greeting I received.

"I do," I responded, wondering where this was going.

"What about Shelby?" Dylan asked.

I scoffed. He called to ask my about Zack? I already told him the cop was dirty. "I told you he wasn't okay. He's as dirty as they come."

"Yeah, but I think some shit is going down. More than my mom just sleeping with him," he implored.

I shrugged on my end of the line. He was cute, but if he kept on like this he would probably get us both killed. "That's not my problem," I tried as gently as I could to break it to him, imagining his sweet face on the other end of the line. "I'm having my weekly dinner with my estranged father. I gotta go."

"Come by tonight!" he raced to get the sentiment in before I hung up.

"Yeah, sure," I agreed and ended the call so that I could return to the table before my French fries got cold.


	3. Chapter 3

Smoking in front of the motel was becoming our thing. I had no complaints about it because there was none of the pressure of taking someone out on a date to eat or to a movie or even for coffee.

Norman walked by and was clearly not expecting to see us. "Hey," he nodded at his brother and then at me and then began to scurry away, looking a lot like his mother the other night.

"Hey!" Dylan shouted after him. "Why do you always run away from me?"

Norman turned back to us. "I don't."

Dylan offered up the bottle of whiskey that we had been drinking from. Norman took the peace offering and took a sip. He handed the bottle back and then nearly died, spluttering and coughing as he swallowed.

"I'm just sorry you had to deal with her all alone," Dylan said. "She's crazy."

"You have no idea, Dylan," Norman shook his head.

"What?" Dylan demanded.

"I can't say it in front of her," he denies his brother again.

I groaned and hoisted myself out of my chair. "Goddammit."

Dylan reached out and grabbed my hand as I tried to walk past him. "Don't go."

"I'll be back," I said, prying his fingers from me. "I'm gonna go piss in the woods or something, just text me when it's safe." I parked myself by a tree and sat on the damp earth, leaning my back against the bark. It wasn't the most comfortable, but it would have to do. I had stopped by my car on the way and pulled a grinder and some rolling papers out of the glove compartment. They could talk for hours and I would have been fine. I remained at the tree line while I rolled my joint. It was a habit to eavesdrop and while I didn't want to be a dick to the kid I liked, old habits die hard.

"Isn't she my age?" I heard Norman start out.

"Yeah, so?" Dylan responded.

"Well you shouldn't be giving her alcohol- that's illegal."

"So what's this about mom?" Dylan asked, changing the topic.

I abandoned my spot at the base of the tree, inching closer so I could hear what made Norma Bates such a bitch. As the joint dwindled, I felt myself caring less and less about what was said between the brothers and concerning myself more worrying that the trees could talk, like in Lord of the Rings, and I was ignoring them. As I flicked the butt of the joint into the woods, my phone received a text from Dylan asking if I was still here. I walked out from the trees, carefully putting one foot in front of the other until I reached the motel porch. He looked worried, but it only made him more attractive. I usually went for the guys that didn't know how to care about anything. I stood in front of him, instead of sitting back down in the chair I had previously abandoned. I put one leg on either side of him, straddling his lap. His hands went to my back, pressing me against him as I leaned down to press my lips to his. His tongue brushed my bottom lip and I opened my mouth as our kissed grew more urgent. He broke away from me and his hands had moved from my back to my legs where he ran them up and down my thighs.

"Do you want to go inside?" he asked and I nodded.

He picked me up and put me back down next to him. Taking my hand we ran across the lot and into the house. He ushered me upstairs, following close behind. I tried to move as quietly as possible which turned out to be impossible because of the shoddiness of the wood. Dylan kept shushing me, knowing that it wasn't my fault, but which caused me to break out into giggles and create more noise. I slipped inside his bedroom, but before he could follow me, was intercepted by Norma.

"Where's your brother?" she demanded.

"Out with a girl," he replied.

"What do you mean 'out with a girl?'" she scoffed.

I could hear Dylan's exasperated sigh. "I mean he's out with a girl he likes. He's a seventeen year old boy and he's out with a girl he likes and I hope to God he's getting laid because he sure as hell deserves it after putting up with your crazy ass!"

"My crazy ass?!" she shrieked. "How dare you say that about me? You nothing about what's between me and Norman."

"I know plenty," he sneered.

"What do you mean plenty?" she was reeling, now. "Norman would never say anything bad about me."

"He said enough," Dylan replied.

I could tell he had become impatient because he had begun tapping his foot. I wanted just as badly for her to give up and leave him alone so he could come join me and finish what I started outside.

"Enough to be taken away from you," he continued.

"No one is taking him away from me!" she shouted.

"That girl is right now!" Dylan yelled back.

I heard the distinct sound of a slap. "You stop it!" Norma cried.

The doorbell rang, breaking up the fight and I heard her fly down the stairs. "Norman! Norman? Is that you?"

I emerged from Dylan's bedroom to see he was standing halfway down the stairs. I slowly joined him and saw that my father was standing outside with three of his deputies, including Zack. I reached out and took Dylan's hand.

"Emma Louise Bates," the sheriff said. "You're under arrest for the murder of Keith Summers."

Zack handcuffed her as Dylan and I watched in silence.

"Are you alright?" I asked him, after they had gone.

He shook his head. "Do you mind staying?" he asked, but made no indication that he still wanted to hook up.

"Not at all," I told him. "But I'm a big spoon."

Dylan's point of view

I thought Cameron was kidding, but when I tried to put my arm around her, she pushed me away. I had given her some of my clothes to sleep in, a tshirt and a pair of boxers. They were just a little bit too big so you could tell they weren't hers. She looked so cute and part of me still wanted desperately to undress her, but the other part of me couldn't get past the fact that her father had just arrested my mother for murder. A murder I now know she's guilty of.

So Cameron climbed into my bed and put an arm around me, pressing her forehead into my back. It felt nice to be held, but it irked me that I had no way of kissing her as the little spoon. I was beginning to figure out though that Cam knew what she wanted and getting in the way of that probably wasn't a good idea. I fell asleep smelling smoke and roses.

Cameron's point of view

I snuck out of Dylan's bed and went to put my own clothes back on. "You're staying for breakfast, right?" he mumbled at my back. "Coffee, at least?"

I nodded and he climbed out of bed. He wore only boxers and God, he was cut. He gently put his hands on my hips and kissed me chastely. It wasn't enough. I wanted him to pick me back up and throw me back on that bed. He pulled away after the kiss and I wondered how any one man could have so much self-control because I certainly didn't.

"Just let me get dressed," he breathed and I noticed that while he had stopped kissing me, his eyes lingered. He threw on a cotton long sleeved shirt and some jeans and walked me downstairs. In the kitchen, he put on a pot of coffee. "I could make eggs or…" he offered a bit awkwardly.

I shook my head. "Just the coffee is good."

He breathed a sigh of relief and pulled out a box of cereal and a bowl for himself. He sat down at the table and after pouring the coffee into a mug, I joined him.

"You want some cream? Sugar?" he asked, mouth full of food.

"I drink it black like my soul," I grinned at him.

I had my hand, resting on his arm as he ate. Something inside of me didn't want to let go of him. It was so easy to be with him and I was so comfortable, I didn't want the moment to disappear. But it did, as soon as Norman walked in the front door.

"Hey," Dylan looked up at him.

"Hey," Norman said, looking at me. I knew he wanted to ask if I had spent the night, maybe lecture Dylan, but he asked if his mom was sleeping instead.

"She's in jail," Dylan told him.

Silence followed and the room became still and awkward.

"That's my cue." I jumped up and planted a kiss on Dylan's cheek before walking out.


	4. Chapter 4

I had just gotten out of the shower after seven hours at work when my cell phone rang. Only two people ever called me: Dylan and my dad. Emma always texted.

"Cam! Cam! I'm sorry, but I don't know what to do. I didn't know who to call!" He was panicking.

"Okay, okay. Calm down." I had no idea what was going on and it worried me. "Where are you?"

"Um, I don't know. Uh, the woods, past the road to the fields," he answered, slowly.

My keys were already in the ignition by the time he figured out where he was. "Stay put. I'm coming to get you." I hung up and flew through the wet roads, trying to get to him as quickly as possible. Eventually I did find him, although he wasn't by the road. He stood near Ethan's truck, hands shoved in his pockets and pacing. As I got out of the car, I saw the back windshield had been shot out and there was a lot of blood. My heart caught in my throat and a pit began to grow inside of my stomach.

"Dylan- Dylan what happened?" I asked, struggling to peel my eyes away from the car and look at him.

"Ethan. He's been shot," he explained, holding back tears. "I uh, I killed the guy who did it. Ran him over with the truck."

I took minute to process it all and Dylan looked frightened. "Okay. Leave the truck here, it's far enough from the road no one will see it. Tomorrow though, you have to call Gil. Tell him what happened and he'll tell you how to get rid of the evidence. Come on."

He nodded and the climbed into the passenger's side of the Jeep.

"You look even more disoriented," I commented.

"You put the doors on," he said simply.

I barked out a laugh. "Yeah, yeah I did." I parked around back of Jimmy's Dinner and began ascending the wooden staircase outback.

"Wait, you live here?" Dylan asked.

I nodded as I unlocked the door. "Yeah, why?

"You're 17. What about your parents?" he asked.

"My mom kicked me out when I was fifteen," I explained. "My dad's a good guy but he loved her more than he loved me." I kicked off my shoes and threw off my jacket and Dylan remained silent. "So if you ever wanna get out of the psych ward of a house…"

He kissed me without warning. His hand cupped my face, pulling me into him. I let him back me against the wall and I ran my hands under his shirt. I guided him into my room and sat on my bed. He pushed me backwards and knelt over me on the mattress.

"Wait," I stopped him from coming in for another kiss. "I don't want you to be with me because you feel obligated. If you're freaked out or anything about me not freaking out, you can go. Like, don't think I'm gonna turn you in just cause you're not into me."

He fell over onto his side, laughing. "I'm still here because I want you to be mine."

I rolled onto my shoulder to face him and began kissing him again. He pushed himself back on top of me, grinding his hips into mine. As the ferocity of our kisses increased, the speed at which our clothes disappeared as well.

When I woke up in the morning, Dylan was already dressed. "Are you going?" I asked, a bit disappointed.

"Gil wants me to meet him," he explained.

I held out my arms, indicated that I wanted him closer. He leaned down and wrapped his arms around my naked torso. "If anything goes south, just invoke my name, alright?"

Dylan kissed me slowly at first and then more roughly.

"You have to go," I giggled. My heart sank as I watched him go. I should have been happy after all the things we did last night, but I didn't want him to be going from my apartment or my bed.

I got out of work and drove towards the Bates'. Dylan had asked me to come by. We were gonna celebrate his promotion and the fact that that shithead Remo had to work for him now. When I got there, I recognized Zack's car was parked there as well. He must have been getting it on with Norma in the motel; I laughed at the thought. Dylan wasn't sitting in front of the motel where we normally hung out so I walked up the stone steps to the house. The front door was unlocked so I walked right in, thinking he might have been expecting me. But as I walked into the kitchen, I witnessed Zack hitting Norma with the butt of his gun while Dylan and Norman sat at the table, not moving.

"Zack!" I screamed. "What the fuck?"

His arm swung around and he shot instinctively. "Aw, shit! Cam!"

I had ducked out of the way and pulled my own gun out of my purse. I never carried it in my waistband around Dylan because I didn't want to scare the poor boy away and now I was regretting my decision. "The fuck did you do, Zack?" I shouted from my hiding place.

"Just go, Cam," he yelled. "This doesn't concern you."

"That's my boyfriend and his family!" I growled. "It concerns me!"

I had distracted Zack and now Norman took the opportunity to tackle him. Zack was easily able to throw him off and knocked the boy unconscious. In the struggle, Dylan was able to recover his gun and got off four shots while I made a run for the family. Zack returned the fire, increasing the distance between himself and Dylan. I remained holding onto my own weapon, but I hadn't fired. I didn't want to shoot at Zack he was like my older brother, my douche-y, older brother. I hid behind the china cabinet next to Dylan and he kissed my temple. Norma had rushed over to where Norman was lying down, sobbing. Dylan kept shooting at Zack and Zack shot back, hitting him in the shoulder. He cried out in pain and dropped down. I sprung up, firing a couple rounds back at Zack. My concern about hurting Zack was gone; he had hurt my boyfriend. Dylan used my cover as he tried to close the distance between himself and the deputy. Dylan shot him in the leg, but Zack continued to crawl through the living room. As Dylan went in for the final shot, the gun only clicked, signifying a lack of ammunition. Zack took the opportunity to regain his gun, but I had gotten there and began firing. "You gotta count!" I yelled at Dylan as he ran by me, picking up a duffle bag on the way up the stairs. We ran all the way to the furthest room and slipped inside. He used the lull to reload the magazine of his gun while I looked at his arm. I tore off one of my shirt sleeves to bind it and hopefully lessen the bleeding.

"I'm sorry you're involved in this," he grunted.

"Don't apologize," I said. "It's not your fault."

"I asked you over," he responded.

"And it's a damn good thing I did," I growled back. "I'm sorry I have to defend you from Zack."

He chuckled, but stopped after hissing in pain. "Yeah, so I have a gun cause of work. Why do you?"

"Cause I live in White Pine Bay," I answered.

Zack made his way upstairs and into the bedroom. Zack rushed us and while Dylan got a few shots off into his chest, Dylan's head banged back against the dresser. Zack was able to stand and hobble out of the room, but I didn't go after him. I held onto Dylan, trying to rouse him. His eyelids fluttered and finally opened.

"Norman!" he nearly shouted.

I had forgotten about the rest of his family. We raced down the stairs and out of the house trying to catch up with Zack. He was outside, halfway down the walk and he just keeled over. Norma, who had been sitting in her car with Norman, got out and rushed towards Dylan, embracing him. "

We gotta get this looked at," she said, looking at his arm and taking him away from me.

"I was so amped up it didn't even hurt until just now," he admitted.

I sat down on the steps to let them speak, ultimately admitting there was something wrong with Norman. I tried not to look like I was hanging onto every word she said. I began smoking a cigarette, not sure what to do with myself until Dylan came back over. He sat down next to me and Norma sat on the other side of him.

"You should go," he said. "Norma called the cops. They'll be here any minute."

"I think I'll stay," I replied. "It'll be alright."


	5. Chapter 5

We remained seated on the stone steps for what feels like ages, my ass was even beginning to hurt by the time the flashing red and blue lights appeared in the lot. Dylan had reached across my lap, putting his hand on my far knee and I rested my head on his shoulder, holding onto that same arm. My father got out of the SUV and we stood up. Dylan put his good arm around me, still holding onto the gun and Norma pulled her other son out of the car.

The Sheriff rested his hand on his holstered gun, approaching us slowly. "Step away from her," he commanded quietly and calmly.

Dylan didn't protest. He removed his arm from around me and offered up the gun without being told to do so.

My father took the gun and then his eyes landed on Zack's body. It hit me then that he was dead and was never coming back. I would never hear him call me Cami and ruffle my hair again. I pulled Dylan's arm back around me, looking for comfort.

"We'd better talk," my dad said as he examined the body.

Dylan's arm got taken care of and put in a sling and we all congregated in the living room. I hated that living room. Like the rest of the house it was stuck in the 50s. Norma and Norman sat down on the sofa and Dylan stood at the window. I tried to remain close to him, thinking my dad might be more lenient if he knew how I felt.

Norma told my dad everything, including the murder of Keith Summers.

"Alright, here's what the story's gonna be," the sheriff decided. "I began suspecting Shelby of being corrupt a while back. This coincided with a violent confrontation between Shelby and Keith Summers in which Shelby killed Keith and then he threw his body in the bay. Shelby had one of the girls in his possession. He was hiding her on Keith's boat and I was starting to close in on him at this point, without him knowing of course. I mean, I was picking up on little things."

"Really?" Dylan interrupted.

"Shhh Dylan," his mother reprimanded him.

"Shelby tried to move the girl," my father continued. "That led to a showdown right here on the property. I kill Zack Shelby with this gun."

"Oh yeah? Well then, what's this?" Dylan motioned to the wound on his arm.

"You got in the way," he replied simply.

"Yeah, in the way of a bullet that would've hit your daughter!" he shouted.

I tugged on his arm, begging him to drop it.

"That's it then," my dad stood up when Dylan doesn't press it further. "Are you okay?" he asked me before he left.

"Yeah," I lied.

"Are you sure?" he pressed further. "No one would blame you if you weren't. I know you thought of him has a brother."

"Well obviously, of course it's gonna suck," I sighed. "But I'm alright."

He frowned, still not entirely accepting it. "I think you should go home," he said, looking at Dylan instead of me.

"With you?" I scoffed although I knew that was not what he meant.

He kissed my forehead and left.

"I really should get going," I said turning back to face the family. "I'm really sorry about everything."

Dylan offered to see me out and walked me down to my car. "How did you know your dad was gonna make it right?" he asked as we walked down the stairs, hand in hand.

"He's covered for me before," I admitted.

"What? What happened?" Dylan asked, eyes wide.

"That's a story for another night," I said.

Dylan shook his head. We had reached my car and I looked at him, my back against the driver-side door. "I feel like there's so much I don't know about you," he sighed.

"I'm not keeping anything from you," I tried to comfort him. "It's just a lot of shit to sort through."

He kissed me. "I know. How about this? Every time I see you, you owe me a story."

"Deal," I smiled and kissed him back.

The clock was ticking slower than I had ever seen it tick. There was no way a second actually took as long as it was taking right now. It was a shitty eighteenth birthday; they were all shitty that's why I didn't celebrate them, but I always held out a little hope that something about the day would be special. When the bell finally rang I ran down the front steps and saw Dylan waiting for me, leaning against a truck. I threw myself at him. It was a great surprise for a rainy Monday. My arms flew up and landed around his neck and he bent his head and kissed me. I felt important, just then. Not like the kid that sits on the outside looking in. I knew people were looking at us and it made me feel good.

"Where's your bike?" I asked, knitting my eyebrows together.

"Truck came with the promotion," he said. "Are you free to hang out?"

"Yeah, my Monday shift at work was always mornings and now that they're threatening to not let me graduate I had to give it up. I'm golden all day," I smiled.

"Cool, get in."

"Happy birthday to me," I muttered.

Dylan slid in behind the wheel. "What was that?" he asked, starting it up.

I tried to think of something quickly that had the same syllables, but came up empty. "Uh, happy birthday to me?" I mumbled, embarrassed.

"Shit," he hit the steering wheel. "Why didn't you tell me? I would've gotten you something."

"Like birthday sex?" I laughed although it was not a joke.

He chuckled. "Yeah, like that. But only if you keep your end of the deal and tell me a story."

"It's not very cheery," I warned him.

He shrugged as we drove away from the school. "That's fine. Tell it now and then when we get where we're going it'll cheer us up."

I cleared my throat and sat back in my seat, putting my feet up on the dash. "So, as you already know I was kicked out of my house when I was fifteen. Why is another story, but my mother didn't want me there anymore. My dad helped me find an apartment so I wasn't left on the streets; we don't have any other family, and cosigned for the place. I didn't let him pay for it though. He still offers when we have dinner together, once a week, maybe twice depending on how peaceful the cannabis business is at the moment. But there's no way in hell I'm taking a cent from that ass. I don't want to rely on a guy that doesn't put me first. He and my mom split a year after I moved out. He offered to let me come home, but why the hell would I go back? I'm not one's second choice. And now I can have my boyfriend over whenever I want."

Dylan chuckled. "You've got one hell of a life," he said parking the car. He unbuckled his seatbelt and made to leave the car so I did the same. He had driven us up to one of the ridges overlooking the coast. I joined him in front of the truck to look at the view. "I found this when I was looking for my own place and it makes me glad I came out west," he explained. "Happy birthday."

I kissed him and before I knew it, I was on my back on the hood of the truck. His kisses were desperate as he hungrily pulled at my pants. I helped with my belt and shimmied out of them. I tore his shirt off, smothering him with kisses in between. One of his hands grabs at my breast while the other moves between my thighs. I let out a gasp and he takes this as motivation to continue.

"Fuck," I groaned as he slipped a finger inside of me. I sat up a bit so I could undo his pants.

I yanked down his pants and boxers and he pressed his lips back to mine. He trailed the kisses down my neck, biting several times eliciting moans from me.

"You sure?" he breathed into the crook of my neck.

"Yes," I practically begged.

He pulled out his fingers and entered me, causing me to scream. I dug my fingernails into his forearms as his thrusts picked up speed and went deeper inside of me. I could feel myself tightening, about to reach an orgasm.

"Dylan!" I moaned as I came.

He moaned as he pulled out of me and reached down. He gave his own cock a couple of strokes before spilling his cum onto my stomach and then leaning down to kiss me. The warm liquid coating my stomach turned me on again. The moan guys made when they came was always the hottest part of sex for me, but he was panting so I wasn't going to make him go again.

"Aw shit, sorry," he chuckled softly, looking at what he had done.

"It's okay," I giggled. "But do you have something I can use to clean up."

He tugged his pants back up and grabbed his shirt. He came back a moment later and I was still naked, leaning against the front of the truck. "Damn you look hot," he smirked.

I flipped him off. "So?"

"This okay?" he held up a relatively clean towel.

I nodded and he tossed it to me. I wiped off my stomach and put my clothes back one, suddenly realizing that my legs didn't want to support me. Dylan caught me, laughing. "Happy birthday, my love," he murmured kissing my jaw.


	6. Chapter 6

Dylan's Point of View

I didn't think the west coast could get so cold, but here I was shivering as I walked down Main Street and it was barely December. I probably should have called Cameron to see if she was around, but I needed to see her anyway so I thought I would just swing by.

Outside of the diner she was talking to a guy that could have been a model except for the neck tattoo and brand on his forearm. I probably should have been concerned about her safety, but worry was not the feeling I got from seeing her talking to him. Instead, I felt jealousy which I had not been expecting. I knew that if this stranger was dangerous, Cam could take care of herself, what I worried about was that he found that attractive too.

She saw me approaching, acknowledging me by giving me a nod, but then turned back to the guy to continue her conversation. When I crossed the street to reach them, I nodded my own acknowledgement at the guy and slid my arms around Cam's waist from behind, resting my chin on her shoulder.

"I'll see you later, Gary," she ended the conversation. "I have to deal with this one."

The guy, Gary, chuckled and with a playful punch on her arm, walked back down the street.

"Who was that?" I asked as casually as I could muster, kissing her cheek.

"Gary," she replied, turning around to face me. "He does my tattoos."

Her answer only worsened my jealousy. I knew where her tattoos were; he would have had to have seen her nearly naked. "I wanted to let you know I'm going to be gone for a few days. I have to go to California for work."

"Picking up the trimmers?" she asked. She liked to show off her just how much she knew, but the way her eyes sparkled when she did made it endearing.

"How'd you know?" I had to ask because just this morning I didn't even know what a trimmer was. Not that I would ever admit that to Cameron.

She shrugged. "It's harvest season. Come on into the diner, I just ordered a milkshake."

I followed her inside although I didn't really have time. I just wanted to kiss her before I left. "Tell me a story before I go?" I sat down at the counter next to her and offered my best half-smile; the grin that got me laid throughout high school.

My charm didn't work on her because she shook her head. "I only have one story to tell you and it involves the police and why I got kicked out of my house so I think I'll save it for when we have more time."

I nodded, not really understanding how big of a deal it was for her and checked my phone. "Shit, I have to go," I said when I saw the time. "I don't want to be stuck in a car for twelve hours with a pissed off Remo."

She laughed, proving that she didn't comprehend how much the guy hated me. "Be careful," she said and leaned over to kiss me.

I pecked her lips gently, but lingered for a moment before pulling away. She tasted like chocolate.

I thought I could make it the whole trip without calling her; prove that I wasn't hopelessly attached. But drunkenly trying to clean up the blood from my nose, I realized I needed someone to bitch to. I laid on the cardboard mattress, listening to her phone ring, wondering if she'd ever pick up. It probably wasn't helping for me to run right to her. The one thing Remo said that had any validity to it was the fact that I was moving up in the drug business, but dating the sheriff's daughter. Yet, I was under the impression the weed guys were cool with Cameron. It felt like ages while the phone rang and I knew that all this thinking was pointless. The only reason I would ever leave Cameron was if being with me put her in danger.

"It's one in the fucking morning," her voice grumbled and I broke out into a smile.

"Something tells me you weren't asleep anyway," I replied.

She laughed. "What's up, Dylan?"

"I got into a fight with Remo," I told her.

The laughter died from her voice. "Shit are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I answered honestly. "We were at a bar, he was smashed. It got out of control," I tried explaining.

"Did you win?" I heard a smile creeping back into her voice.

There wasn't a winner. "Of course, the guy's ancient," I said. "Even with one arm he was no match for me."

She giggled, but then there was a moment of silence. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm alright. Goodnight, Cam."

Cameron's Point of View

I grabbed Dylan's hand as we walked. I had an appointment with Gary and he wanted to come with me. It was strange to have someone come with me, but I was glad because this tattoo was going on my ribs and I wanted a hand to hold on to for the pain. As I took his hand, he looked at me funny. The other day I had just expressed how stupid it was to "walk like a couple" because it just made things more difficult. Knowing you're together should be enough.

"My hands are cold!" I explained. "Can't feel my fucking fingers."

He chuckled and put my hand to his lips.

I was so surprised by his gesture that I hadn't noticed Bradley Martin right in front of us.

"Uh, Dylan?" she said, completely ignoring me. "Can I have a word?"

"Sure, what's up?" he shrugged.

Bradley's eyes drifted over to me and I sneered back at her.

"You can trust Cam. She won't say anything," Dylan vouched for me, still not letting go of my hand. "What's up?"

"I need a favor," she said. "I need you to get me into my dad's office."

Dylan scoffed at first, but eventually she was able to convince him to help her out.

"You need to be careful," I grumbled when she was out of earshot. "I don't trust her."

Dylan laughed, but it wasn't genuine. "Why not?"

I dragged him along to the tattoo shop. "Because she's one of those girls that knows that she's pretty," I sighed.

"You know you're pretty," he pointed out.

I rolled my eyes because he wasn't getting it. "Yeah, but I also know that I'm smart. I rely on that to figure out my problems. She uses her big eyes to get others to solve problems for her."

"Wait! You're jealous," he laughed.

"Yeah- no, maybe," I admitted.

He groaned. "You work with guys all day and I don't get on you about hanging out with them."

"I don't rearrange my life to solve their problems," I hissed.

"She's just a kid!" He retorted. "I'm just trying to help.

"We're the same age!" I pointed out.

He stopped, unable to produce a comeback. "Shit," he muttered and I knew he had forgotten I was younger than him. "Yeah, but you're wise beyond your years," he recovered.

I wanted to laugh, but I just shook my head instead.

He embraced me, crushing me against his chest. "No one is going to take me away from you."


	7. Chapter 7

A lot of bad shit happened all at once after Dylan got back from California. First Miss Watson was brutally murdered. And then, shortly after Dylan snuck Bradley into her father's old office, she tried to kill herself. She got drunk and jumped off a bridge about five months ago and she was finally getting out.

The one good thing was that I got to graduate. My father came to the ceremony and so did the Bates. I took a picture with my father, and then with Norman and Dylan and then just me and Dylan and me and Emma, and me, Emma and Norman, and me, Emma, Norman, and Dylan. It was the most exhausting experience of my life.

"So what are you gonna do now?" Dylan asked, sticking his hand in my pocket while our parents spoke.

"Ideally? Have celebratory sex with my boyfriend," I smiled up at him.

He smirked and kissed me. "I meant, college. I never even asked if you applied anywhere. I feel like a shit head."

I laughed at him. "You're kidding, right? I barely got through high school. I'm gonna just be a mechanic who dates a weed farmer."

"I like that," he told me.

Summer had been good for us so far. We both were working a lot, but I slept over his place a lot and he spent a lot of nights in my bed.

We were alone in the Bates house, the warm air that was in the rest of the house was stifling in Dylan's bedroom. I laid on my stomach, resting my chin on the back of my hands which were on his chest. He ran his fingers gently up and down my arms, never breaking eye contact. I admired him the way Basil must have seen Dorian. His blue eyes were striking against his pale skin and blond hair. His rosy cheeks and pink lips begged me to kiss him again.

I gave in, leaning forward pressing my lips to his. "How pissed does your mom get about me sleeping over?"

"She's not too happy, but I think she's getting over it," he chuckled. "Thanks for humoring me and coming over here, by the way. I know it's easier at your place, but I worry about them sometimes. I wouldn't say either of them is stable."

I laughed. "Yeah, but it must be nice to have a family to be a part of."

"You can have mine," he joked.

I smiled and forced myself to laugh. He was kidding, but the idea seemed alright to me. I pushed myself up off of him and climbed out of bed.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To take a shower; I'm covered in sweat and your cum!" I giggled, but you can join me.

He nearly jumped out of bed. "Only if you tell me that story. You promised me months ago."

I sighed. I had promised him, but had been putting it off. If it had been enough for my own mother to turn against me, why wouldn't he turn tail and run? I stepped under the steaming water and a minute later Dylan joined me, placing his hands on my hips. "So once upon a time," I laughed nervously. "So in middle school I used to hang out with these guys, right? And when we got to high school they got into the drug business. Just errand boys, not even Gil would let a minor be a guard. They're probably guards now; actually, they probably work for you. But uh, I'd hang out with them and their bosses would hang out with us. They thought I was cool or funny or something, I guess."

"Or hot," Dylan interjected.

I laughed. "I don't know they never tried to make a move."

"No shit," he chuckled. "You're the sheriff's daughter. If I had known that beforehand, I never would have spoken to you."

I slapped him playfully. "Well thank God I have you. This whole thing is coming together now. Everything makes so much sense."

My sardonic rant was interrupted by his cell ringing. He reached out from the curtain and grabbed his phone that was on the sink. "It's Norman," he announced, surprised. "He never calls."

"Then you should probably answer it," I told him, but began kissing his collarbone anyway.

"What- what is she doing in our basement?- I'm not doing anything until you tell me why she's hiding in our basement!- Yeah- fine- I'll tell her," he hung up the phone. "Bradley Martin is in the basement and I have to drive her an hour up the coast so she can get on a bus to Boston."

I sighed and stepped out of the tub, grabbing my towel. "Get dressed and get her," I told him. "I'll grab my keys."

"You don't have to do this," he said, drying himself off.

"Well I'd give you the keys, but no one drives my baby, but me and if anyone sees the Jeep, they won't question it because no one questions the sheriff's daughter," I explained, shimming back into my jeans.

The ride up was awkward with Bradley in the back seat. It was no secret that I didn't like her nor was I supposed to know that she had killed Gil. It was even more awkward that we had to wait for the bus. The three of us grabbed a table in a shoddy café. Bradley sat across from us eating pancakes like it was her last meal.

"Bus should be here in about fifteen minutes," Dylan announced

"Okay," Bradley responded, but I wasn't sure if she even heard him.

I groaned and moved out away from the table, excusing myself to go to the bathroom. When I returned she was boarding the bus. "What's that?" I asked about a piece of paper in his hand.

"I need to stage her suicide. So Zane doesn't find out and kill her," he explained.

We staged her death and then days passed and Dylan did not come around and would not answer my calls. I called him when the news came about my dad's house being set fire to, but still no answer. "Fuck you, Dylan Massett," I growled and hopped into my Jeep to drive down to the Gil's shipyard. I hadn't been there in a few years and I had forgotten about the overwhelming smell of sawdust.

"Howdy, little sheriff," Remo winked at me.

"Cam!" Dylan was startled to see me. "I heard about your dad's house. I'm sorry. Are you alright?"

"That's not why I'm here. I haven't been inside of that house in three fucking years," I snarled. "I'm here because you've been avoiding me. Cause you're not answering my calls and it feels like shit."

"I'm not avoiding you," he sighed.

"Yes you are," I implored and with a whistle, Remo walked out.

"It's nothing," Dylan admitted. "I just found out some stuff."

"What stuff?" I asked immediately thinking that I had done something wrong.

"Nothing," he grumbled again and hunched his shoulders, refusing to look me in the eye.

"Goddammit, Dylan," I sighed. I put my hands on his chest.

He tried to say something, but it took him some time to get the words out. I just stood there, waiting for him. "I met my uncle the other day," he began. "I didn't even know Norma had a brother. It turns out he's also my dad."

I had no idea how to respond to that. It wasn't even on my list of things that I was expecting. I stood up on my tiptoes to kiss him. I just wanted him to know it didn't change how I felt.

He jerked away violently. "Get off! How could you want to touch me?"

"You didn't ask for this. It's not like it's your fault," I said.

"Don't you know what that makes me?" he shouted. "It's disgusting."

I shook my head. "You're still the same person you were last week."

"What if we had kids, huh? Their granddad would be their great uncle and their grandma would be Aunt Norma. How fucked is that?" he cried.

"Of course it's fucked," I sighed. "Our lives are fucked. Can I finish my story?"

Remo knocked on the wall to announce that he had returned. "Sorry, but we gotta get going."

Dylan hesitated but then kissed my forehead. "I'm going to call you later. I promise."

I tried to not be obsessive, but it was summer in White Pine Bay and the only thing to do was sit with my phone in my hands. My phone finally rang, but it wasn't Dylan's number. I answered the call immediately. It was from White Pine Bay Memorial Hospital. My stomach sank before the nurse finished telling me who they were calling for and what was wrong. I tried to concentrate, but I couldn't retain much other than Dylan had been hurt and there had been some kind of accident. I don't even know if I responded before hanging up and driving over there at least 20 miles above the speed limit.

I hated hospitals. They always smelled like chemicals, chemicals used to mask the smell of death and they were always so fucking cold. A nurse showed me to Dylan's room. It was a private room with its own bathroom and everything. He was asleep in the gurney, tethered in place with the IV. I reached out and gently stroked his cheek. His face was all cut up and bruised. When he didn't respond to my touch, I took the seat by the bed and waited.

"Well, look who's awake."

My eyes fluttered open to see Dylan, sitting up. "Aw, I wanted to be here for when _you_ woke up," I whined, unable to remember falling asleep.

"You are here," he said. "Thank you."

"What happened?" I asked, rubbing my eyes as I tried to wake myself up.

"I got hit by a car," he told me.

I imagined a vehicle crashing into him and his body tumbling up on the hood. It made me nauseous. "How the hell did that happen?"

"There was a drive-by. They were gunning for Zane. I pushed him down and when they came back, I tried to take them out," he explained.

"Why would you ever save that whack job?" I continued my interrogation.

"He's my boss; he's the brother of the big boss," he said.

"Yeah, I heard that," I mulled it over. "I understand, but you could have died, Dylan! Did you even think about me or your family?"

His eyes shifted away from me and he avoided the question. "I met the big boss," he said. "She came in here. Said they're taking care of all the medical expenses."

"That's good, I guess," I sighed.

"You should go home, sleep in a bed," Dylan suggested. "I'll be fine."

I shook my head. "You're not gonna get rid of me that easily."

He laughed. "Alright well, since we have time; maybe you should finish your story."


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry this one is half the length. I figured ya'll deserved an update. Plus, I wanted to end this chapter how I did. Working on the next part now.

I sighed, wondering if there was an easier way to admit to my crime. In the end I decided it would be best to tell him everything. "We were hanging out on the docks. I was fifteen, now. We were all drinking. The story goes I was drunk, but uh, I only had one drink. There were two guys that came up to us, started harassing us. They were from the Ford family, so they weren't going to seriously hurt us. Maybe rough the guys up a bit, definitely be dicks.

"Someone threw a punch and it got pretty violent pretty quick. I got my buddy's gun and shot one of Ford's guys. Before the other one even had time to react I had picked up a bowie knife and stabbed him in the chest."

"You were afraid to tell me that you defended yourself and your friends?" Dylan asked.

I shook my head at him. "I stabbed him in the chest twenty-two times. That's not self-defense. That's overkill. So my dad twisted a few details and we all got off scott-free. Not even a night in jail for underage drinking. My mom found out that I had murdered two men and decided I was a monster. And now we're here."

He weakly reached for my hand and intertwined our fingers. "You're not a monster," he told me. "You just get how the world works."

All day at work I kept checking my phone. There were grease smudges on the home and lock buttons. I had planned on going back to the hospital as soon as I could get out of work, and hadn't really expected any news. I did think Norman would text me back when I told him that his brother nearly died.

"Yo," I answered the phone while simultaneously trying to wipe my hands off with a rag.

"They're letting me out," Dylan said on the other end.

"That's great! When? I'll come get you."

"Whenever the doctor can get off his ass and sign a piece of paper. Should be about an hour," he said.

"Shit," I grumbled. "I can't leave work. I've been skipping out too much."

"Don't worry about it. Remo will get me."

I felt pretty shitty. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it. I'll keep you updated," he promised. "Love you."

He said it so casually, I thought it accidently slipped out. "Love you, too," I answered quickly before hanging up, trying not to make a big deal about it.

"What?" I sneered at Joe who was giving me a sympathetic look.

"You're boyfriend in trouble again?" he asked.

"He'll be fine." I immediately shut down the conversation and turned to the next car that needed my attention. It was a 1970 Mustang Mach 1 and I thought it was beautiful before I even lifted the hood. When I did, it became even more perfect: 6 cylinder box, turbo charged engine. The 'I love you' was quickly forgotten. "Who the fuck owns a car like this and doesn't work on it themselves?" I asked out loud.

Joe came over to look at it for himself and whistled. "I think it's one of the Ford family's, Maybe Nick?"

I shook my head. "I would do anything for this car. Including sleeping with Nick Ford."

Joe burst out in laughter. "I don't think your boyfriend would be too happy about that. You could work for your entire life and you'd never be able to afford that car."

"You know what this town needs? Street racing." I remained staring at the engine. "We've got a steady drug industry, why isn't there any street racing around here?"

Joe laughed again. "Street racing only exists in movies. You're not gonna build a car, race it for six grand and then get to fuck Vin Diesel."

"Fuck off," I grumbled. "A girl can dream."

I fixed the wiring in the Mustang and had to return it to the owner the next day. I received a call from Dylan before the owner came to collect. I already dreaded handing over the keys.

"Remo never picked me up," Dylan said. "Jodi did; the big boss."

"Zane's sister?"

"See? I'm not sure I even wanna know how you know that," he scoffed.

I laugh. "This time it was a hacker friend. I didn't know she was the big boss though. You said Zane was the head guy's brother. I put two and two together."

"I don't know where I am, a couple towns over, up in the mountains," he continued.

"Is that your girlfriend?" I head a female voice in the background. "Sheriff's daughter, right?"

"Yeah," Dylan grunted at her.

I decided that I didn't like her either. The amount of people I didn't like was adding up quickly since I had gotten myself a boyfriend. "Tell her you need to come home," I teased. Translation: I want you to come home.

"I will. I'll be back soon. I love you," he said, more firmly this time.

I paused. It clearly wasn't an accident this time. Did I really love him back? He certainly made me happy and people don't usually do that.

"Cam?" his voice tried again.

"I love you too," I replied gently and honestly.


	9. Chapter 9

"Shut up!" Dylan growled at his phone.

"What?" I asked, peering over my book. I had been waiting for him to get ready. We were going to hang out outside of the apartment for once: go for a walk, maybe get high. When he came home from Jodi's I was able to convince him to move in with me. He still wouldn't have sex with me, though. We slept with our backs to each other and all of our kisses were quick and chaste.

"Norma won't stop calling me. Apparently Norman's in trouble," he grumbled.

I crawled across the bed and looked at his phone. "Well this says Emma."

He snatched the phone from my hand. "What do you want, Emma?" he demanded.

She wanted to meet with him. Reluctantly, I got him to agree. We were going out anyway, so we'd just meet up with her for a few minutes.

We heard her oxygen tank before we saw her in the dark. We stood in a well-lit area of the docks, but as soon as you moved away from the food truck, the atmosphere dramatically changed. "Emma!" I ran towards her and wrapped her up in my arms. I hadn't seen her much at all this summer since we picked different brothers.

"Thanks for meeting me, guys," Emma said.

"What do you want, Emma?" Dylan asked, clearly agitated. "If Norma put you up to this, you should just tell me now so we don't waste each other's time."

"She didn't!" Emma promised. "She has no idea I'm even here, but the reason I'm here is about her and Norman. He's down at the police station. Cody Brennen's father died."

"Yeah, I know," Dylan shrugged. "I'm living with the sheriff's daughter. Have they arrested him yet?"

"I don't know all the details," Emma admitted. "But from everything I heard, it was an accident."

"Yeah, well if it was an accident then it was no big deal," Dylan pointed out. "What am I supposed to do about it anyways?"

Emma pursed her lips and looked towards me for help. I could only shrug. I thought he had a pretty good reason for ignoring the two of them.

"You could be there for them, for Norman," she cried. "That's what you could do. Norman doesn't connect with a lot of people. You matter to him."

"I can't help him, okay?" Dylan told her. "He's just gonna have to figure some things out for himself. Especially between him and Norma. They only care about each other."

"Whatever you guys fought about, can you just take a break? Just for right now," Emma yelled.

"So basically it doesn't matter how people treat you? When they need something, you just go running back. Is that how it is?" Dylan hissed back.

"Is that what happened?" Emma asked quietly.

"It doesn't matter. I'm not going," Dylan said and grabbed my hand as if to emphasize the point.

Emma was trying really hard not to get mad. "Somebody died! Are you just gonna let him figure that out for himself? Let him deal with it on his own?"

"I can't fix this!" he shouted.

"Of course you can't. So don't go. Don't help. Don't do anything," Emma held up her hands in defeat. "I wish I had a mother and a brother I could treat like shit." She stormed away.

Dylan turned to me for validation. "Are you gonna say anything?"

I shrugged. "It's not like he hasn't seen death before: his dad, Miss Watson, Zack Shelby."

"Yeah, yeah," he agreed to himself. "Let's go."

I sat upright in bed, startled by the sound of a phone ringing. I looked over to see Dylan talking into his cell, already getting changed. He hung up and pulled his shirt over his head. "I don't like this," I grumbled. "It's the middle of the night."

"You think I do?" he sighed. "Zane called."

"And you can't say no to Zane," I frowned.

"You know I can't. He's insane." Dylan leaned down and pressed his lips to my forehead.

I crossed my arms in front of my chest, still frowning. "Just promise me you'll be careful."

"I promise," he said. "Now go back to sleep."

I did as I was told, but could barely believe what had just happened. I'm not even twenty and I'm more of adult than most of the adults I know: full time job, apartment, basically married. How did this happen?

Dylan's POV

I was still reeling when I left work after dark. Seeing Norma at the dock had thrown me off. I didn't even get out of the car when I swung by to pick up Cameron. She climbed up into the passenger's seat, excited because this was only our second or third official date, even if it was just going out for a drink. I leaned over and kissed her. My lips lingered for a second. God, I missed having sex, but at the same time I couldn't get my own parents and what I am out of my head.

Driving down the main road, I realized everything really sucked because police lights flashed in my review mirror and I had to pull over.

"Get out," Sheriff Romero, shinned a flashlight in my eyes.

"What the hell, Dad?" Cameron shouted.

"Get out, Dylan," the cop repeated, shushing his daughter.

I obeyed without hesitation, stepping out into the road.

"Where the hell is Zane Morgan?" he demanded.

It was about the warehouse, not his daughter. "I don't know, man," I answered honestly. Jodi had only told him to go, I hadn't heard where. "I don't know where he is."

"Romero grabbed my wrist and twisted my arm behind my back, pinning me against the truck. I felt Cameron open and shut the truck door.

"Get off of him!" She shouted at her father.

"Stay out of this Cameron, this isn't about you," he sighed.

"The hell it isn't," she continued to argue. "That's my boyfriend."

"Get back in the truck," I grunted, not liking the idea of having her see me beaten and arrested. After a moment of hesitation and an audible groan, she obeyed me. "Look, I'd tell you if I knew," I said to Romero. "You think I wanted any of this to happen?"

"I don't know, what you want?" he hissed.

I hesitated until I could come up with an honest answer, but it was an answer to a question he wasn't asking. "I want to move into a proper sized house with Cam. I want to have enough money to support her and so that she can build the car she's been going on about all week." I want to have a dad that isn't my uncle, I didn't add.

He let me up, clearly at a loss. "You hear anything, you need to tell me and if I find out you're lying to me, you're gonna be dead. Do you understand me? I don't care who you are to my daughter."

"Yeah, okay, okay," I said, not sure if I actually would tell him anything.

"Go, get out of here," he ordered and I scrambled back into the truck where Cameron was waiting.

"Are you okay?" she asked, reaching out to touch my face.

I flinched instinctively and shrugged away.

"I am so sorry."

"Don't be sorry," I growled at her. "This had nothing to do with you. It's not your fault. It's about Zane, got it?"

She nodded, looking a little dejected. She took my hand and this time I let her intertwine our fingers. "We don't have to go out," she said after driving for a minute in complete silence.

I smiled out of relief. I felt like shit after getting pinned by her dad. All I wanted to do was go home and go to bed. Maybe I could even distract myself enough that I could get on top of her.

Cameron's POV

We got back to the apartment and he immediately dove into the liquor cabinet. He poured two glasses of Jim Beam and offered one to me. "I'm sorry, I said we'd go out for a drink."

I accepted it. "It's alright. Same thing we'd drink there anyway, right?" I smiled even though I was a little deflated.

He downed his drink quickly and poured himself another. By the time I had finished my first, he had three glasses of whiskey inside of him and he was starting to get cuddly. More cuddly than he had been since he had found out about his parentage. I had missed his hands running up and down my arms, grabbing at me. He pressed his lips forcefully to mine as he pushed me on my back. He knelt in between my legs, running his hands up the backs of my thighs. I tugged his shirt over his head, kissing him back and wrapped my legs around his waist.

I fell asleep a bit sweaty, but happy and tangled up in him, legs interlocked and arms wrapped around each other, I wasn't sure who was holding whom.


	10. Chapter 10

Dylan's POV

I convinced Cameron to come to work with me to help out with my bike which had been parked in my office for months now. When we got there, Remo grabbed my arm and dragged me away from her.

"Really?" he hissed. "The sheriff's kid?"

"She said she used to hang out here all the time," I shrugged, not sure why it was such a big deal.

"Yeah, then she decided to commit murder," he huffed.

"Were you there?" I asked.

"Yeah, it was insane." I could tell he wanted to shout, but was speaking in a hushed voice since Cameron was only a couple yards away. "She probably could have made a living off of being a killer."

I shrugged again, not sure what he meant. "She said she got angry and lost it. She was only defending her friends."

"Oh she was defending us," he scoffed. "But I don't think she ever lost control."

"Twenty-two times is in control?" I laughed.

Remo chuckled, too. "Fair enough."

Cameron wandered over towards us. I guess she decided she had given us enough time to talk about her. "It is so strange being back here."

"How long has it been?" I asked, putting my arm around her shoulders.

"Three. Only three years, but it feels like a lifetime," she answered.

"Good to have you back, kid," Remo playfully hit her on the shoulder and the let us be.

"Remo, uh, said he was there that night," I prodded.

"Yeah, he was," she replied. "Is there a question in there?"

I wasn't sure what I was asking her, but his comments had created doubt in my mind. Maybe things hadn't happened as she said they had, but it's not like she was dangerous. "Nah," I shook my head. "I just want you to know that no matter what happened that night, I'm gonna stick by you."

She leaned up to kiss me. "I'm sorry for lying to you," she said. "I'm actually an assassin for the CIA. They recruited me when I was only thirteen."

I burst out into laughter and brought her to my office where we could work on the bike.

Cameron's POV

Remo sat on the sofa, shotgun across his lap. I barely even looked at him as we crossed the room. My eyes were fixed on the motorcycle. I had missed it. It was so much more fun than a pick-up truck.

"Dylan, I think your mom is here," Remo chuckled.

We looked over at the television screen that displayed the feed from the security cameras. A woman was freaking the fuck out at the front door; it couldn't have been anybody other than Norma. Dylan groaned and went to get her, leaving me alone with Remo.

"What the fuck did you say to him?" I asked when Dylan had left.

"Just that I didn't think you lost control," he admitted without hesitation and a shrug.

I couldn't believe it. "Have you thought that about me this whole time? That I'm a cold-hearted killer?"

"No, we've all killed people in this business. I don't judge you for killing them or lying to the cops, but I think that's what you did; you lied because you knew exactly what you were doing each time you stabbed that guy," Remo explained.

I chewed on my lip, mulling this over, neither disputing his claim nor confirming it.

Dylan returned to tell us he had to leave. He had to go talk to Jodi about Zane. He put me in his truck to drive me back home before he drove out to Oceanview.

"I gotta admit, I'm a bit jealous," I chuckled nervously.

"She's just my boss," Dylan scoffed at the idea.

"She's your friend," I corrected him.

"Alright, she's cool, but I don't look at her like that," he reached over to grab my hand reassuringly. "I'm living with you. I'm in love with you. There's only you."

"Promise?" I had to ask.

"Promise," Dylan echoed. "But…"

I dropped his hand. "But what?"

"We need a bigger place."

I laughed and when I thought I had gotten over it, I laughed some more. I was being ridiculous. "Yeah, we do."

Dylan appeared in the front doorway, his build taking up a good portion of the frame and leaving him a silhouette with the sun shining just over his shoulders.

"What the hell?" I yelled running at him. I shove him back out of the apartment.

"Woah. Woah," he wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me into him.

I began pounding at his chest. "I haven't seen you in days! You don't call. You don't come home!"

He struggled to grab my wrists to stop the assault, but managed to succeed in pinning me against his chest. He rested his chin on top of my head and I was unable to move.

"You could have died!" I continued to cry. "Someone could have killed you. You couldn't even bother to text me?"

"I'm sorry," he sighed, loosening his grip on me. "I wasn't thinking."

"Damn right you weren't," I growled as I pushed away from him.

He followed me back into the apartment. "You probably already know what happened cause you know everything, but can I please complain?" He sighed.

"You're asking?" I scoffed and then realized how much of my shit he put up with. "I'll always listen to you when you want to bitch."

He wrapped his arms around my waist, picked me up, and pulled me onto the bed with him. "My life is so fucked," he began. "I killed Nick Ford, so my murder total is up to two just like you. Meanwhile, he had my brother locked up in an underground box and Norma wanted us to run away to Montreal just so he wouldn't have to take a polygraph test! Which he passed, by the way. Only after I watched Zane kill Jodi and your dad kill Zane."

"You win," I murmured into his chest. "Your life is more fucked up."

He laughed. "That makes me feel real good."

I shrugged, letting silence fill the apartment. But I had to speak when I realized a question was nagging at my insides. "We're you gonna go?"

"What? Go where?" He asked, already forgetting our previous conversation.

"To Montreal," I sighed.

"Nah," he kissed my forehead. "Norma only bought three tickets. Besides, we gotta go look at houses tomorrow."


	11. Chapter 11

Our plans to buy a house were foiled by the arrival of the DEA in town. Dylan was more disappointed than I was. The dinner we sat in for our lunch date was crowded but still quiet enough to talk. He had his small-farm plans in front of him when I sat down. He leaned over the table to kiss me.

"You know," I tapped his piece of paper. "If my broom closet is too small while you work on this project, I won't be offended if you move back in with your family."

He scoffed at my suggestion. "You or Norma? That's not even a choice."

I shrugged. "Thought I'd offer."

Suddenly, I was being pushed closer to the window in the booth by my dad.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt," he flashed me a small smile before turning to Dylan.

I let out an audible groan and rested my head against the window.

"What you got there?" He asked Dylan the same way he pretends to be polite to delinquents' mothers.

"Plans for a barn," Dylan answered through gritted teeth.

"For the motel?" My dad asked.

"No," I growled, annoyed that he was taking up my Dylan time.

Dylan kicked my foot under the table, begging me to be civil. "Are you joining us for lunch?" He asked.

My dad shook his head. "No, it's just a drop by," he explained. "I was hoping to continue our conversation about the future of things around here and I think I'm gonna have to take a more active role."

"Look, Sheriff, I think I've had my fill of what it's like to work in the drug business, as a boss," Dylan tried explaining. "I mean, I just wanna have my own little farm, okay? And be be legal about it and help people out who have glaucoma and anxiety and just make enough to get by."

I snorted. He was trying so hard. It was so cute.

He shot me a glare and continued. "Okay, that's good enough for me. You know, 99 plants and a legal permit. Cam and I, we wanna make this work."

My dad's eyes widened with shock. "I protected you," he said slowly.

"I know," Dylan answered him.

"I went out of my way for you," Romero hissed.

"I know," Dylan repeated. "I really appreciate that, but Nick Ford kidnapped Norman. He threatened my family. What if he threatened Cam? Would you want that?"

"No, of course, I don't want that," my dad signed.

"Thanks," I grinned sarcastically at him.

"I do what I can," he ruffled my hair and I laughed. "So you're out?" He asked Dylan.

"I'm out."

I thought that would be the end of it, but my dad didn't leave. He drummed his fingers on the table for a moment, considering. "Okay, but you know if we're not working together I can't protect you anymore, right? You'll be on your own."

I noticed Dylan's look of panic and tried to intervene. "We'll be fine."

"Yeah, we're going legit so it shouldn't be a problem, right?" Dylan smiled weakly.

"It shouldn't be, but that doesn't mean it won't," the sheriff warned. "Alright, I'll see you guys around."

"Do you think we're gonna have problems?" Dylan turned to me.

I leaned over the table so I could kiss him the way he did when I showed up. "Only if I don't get a milkshake stat." I tried to comfort him, but I was just as irked as he was worried.

When we left the dinner I let Dylan go and drove to the sheriff's station.

I marched past the front desk and right into my dad's office despite the civilian yelling behind me. "What the hell?" I growled, slamming the door shut.

"Woah, Cameron, what's going on?" He asked, startled.

"You had no right!" I yelled at him. "You had no right to come in there and intimidate him like that. You should be happy for us. Instead you crash out date and try to bully him into your illegal schemes!"

He sat back down and put his face in his hands. "I'm sorry, that was not my intention."

"No?" I sneered.

"No," he sighed. "I just-apologize to Dylan for me?"

"Yeah, sure," I brushed him off and left the department, wondering why everything had to be so difficult.

I groaned and rolled over, woken up by the sound of someone walking in the apartment. "Dylan?" I mumbled.

"Did I wake you up?" he asked apologetically.

"Yeah, kinda," I answered, propping myself up on my elbows.

I saw him smirk in the dim, moonlit room and he began crawling over me, pushing me back down on the bed. His lips connected with mine and his hands ran down my sides and up my shirt. I kissed him back, tugging on his lip with my teeth. He moaned and ground his hips into mine. I lifted his shirt over his head and ran my fingers down his chest scratching lightly. He growled and began kissing me again. Soon we were completely naked and he continued to kiss my neck, one hand cupping my breast. I moaned as his hand traveled from my chest down to between my legs. I let out a gasp, digging my nails into his back as he slid his fingers inside of me, his thumb rubbing my clit. I moaned as he pressed harder, deeper inside of me. I screamed his name in a mix of pleasure and pain when he entered me. He fit perfectly between my knees as he thrust deeper and faster into me. I clutched at his arms, his back, the sheets anything I could grab onto as I felt myself about to climax. I tightened as I came, my back arching off the bed as I cried his name. He pulled out and rolled over to the side. I giggled, exhausted and happy.

"You're amazing, Cam," he breathed, kissing my shoulder.


	12. Chapter 12

"See you guys in an hour," I waved to the guys and climbed up inside my Jeep. The plan was to stop by the motel and get the latest drama before getting my lunch. In the back of my mind I had hoped to see Dylan. I knew he wouldn't be there though, he never was since he moved in with me.

I drummed my fingers on the counter of the front desk while Emma filled me in her words were interrupted though by a long-haired brunette looking for my Dylan.

"I have his delivery," she tried to explain.

Curious, Emma and I exchanged a look before following the chick outside. She opened the trunk of her car, revealing it to be full of marijuana plants, presumably 99.

"If I give you the address of his farm, could you drop them off there?" Emma asked.

The girl shook her head. "The less I know about the grow spots the better."

I checked the time on my phone. I would be late getting back to the garage, but still I offered to take the plants. The three of us loaded them into my Jeep and I headed out of town, crowded in by the saplings.

I pulled up to the farm, where the boys were building the barn, and killed the engine.

"Shit," Dylan murmured as I got out of the car. "Hi, Cam," he gave me a peck on the lips.

"Uh, hey," I responded, reacting to his hesitation.

"Not that I'm not glad to see you, but what are you doing here?" He asked.

"I've got your plants," I explained. "I was hanging out with Emma when a girl delivered them. We decided it was best not to leave them in the front porch of the hotel."

He smiled nervously. "Yeah, thanks-"

"Dylan!" An older guy appeared, interrupting us.

"Hi, I'm Cameron," I introduced myself.

He nodded at me. "Hey, how are you?"

It didn't escape my notice how Dylan gulped. "This is, uh, this is Caleb."

My heart sank. This was Caleb. He looked like Dylan. I wanted to throttle him, but it was far from my place. In fact, I had no idea how I was supposed to feel. "Norma's brother," I declared, tentatively.

"Yeah, that's me," Caleb admitted, looking tiaras Dylan.

"He's just, uh, in town for a few days. He's helping me build the barn," Dylan tried to explain although I didn't require a reason. I wished I could express that to him. "Cameron is my girlfriend," he added on.

The man nodded again, clearing feeling awkward about the whole situation. "Uh, I wanted to let you know the motor's shot."

"Uh okay, I'll make a note of that," Dylan shrugged him off.

"Okay, I'm gonna go work on the joists," Caleb excused himself.

I closed the space between Dylan and myself. I reached out and took his hand. "He's staying here?" I whispered.

"Yeah," he grunted back at me.

"Are you okay?" I continued to press.

He nodded. "Please don't tell anyone he's here."

"My lips are sealed," I promised.

"Not even Emma."

"Not a word," I assured him. "Now come on and help me move your plants out of my car. I've got to get back to work."

I considered calling Dylan when I hadn't seen him, but I never did. I believed that for relationships to work, each party needed space. But after the second day I began to worry. I drove past the motel and found his car in the parking lot. I jumped out of my jeep as I cut the engine and ran into the office.

Emma was sitting at the desk and jumped as I threw open the door.

"Sorry!" I apologized. I realized I must have appeared desperate and maybe a bit crazed. "Is Dylan here?" I tried to ask as calmly as I could.

"He's up at the house?" she answered, concerned.

"What's this about?" a voice demanded.

I looked up and saw Norman leaning against the doorway, dressed in a button down and sports coat. I hadn't noticed him in the back office at all.

I squirmed, a little uncomfortable about the confrontation. "I need to talk to him," I lied. I just wanted to make sure he was alive and uninjured. Why did I have to be dating someone in the drug business? "Thanks, Emma," I smiled at her and headed up to the house. I didn't remember there being so many steps and by the time I made it to the front door I was out of breath. I knocked and Norma answered.

Norma answered the door and was so surprised to see me she couldn't find the words to say hello.

"Hi," I smiled the specific way one does when speaking to parents or customers. "I'm looking for Dylan."

"Yes, yes, of course," she tried to regain her composure. "Come in."

Dylan was standing in the living room, looking pissed.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Norma continued. "I was just about to start cooking."

I hesitated. I didn't really want to insert myself into their family affairs.

"Of course she'll stay," Dylan answered for me and guided me upstairs. He practically pushed me up the staircase in front of him while I tried to speak.

"You really need to start using your cell phone-You know, the magical rectangle that you speak into and I can hear your voice across town?- Cause being in the drug trade-it's easy to get killed- and your girlfriend is often left wondering if someone decided to off you!"

He closed his bedroom door behind us. "You're right and I'm sorry. But can we talk about something else?"

"What else?" I asked, sitting down on the bed.

He explained to me about the locked usb stick and how Norma wanted to use it for blackmail, but Dylan wanted to turn it in to my father. On top of all that Norman knows about Caleb and so Dylan has to tell Norma first. "Having you at the dinner table will encourage her to not freak out," he explained.

"Oh my god," I laughed. "This is so fucked!"

He glared at me. I knew what he was thinking: _more fucked up than stabbing a man twenty-two times?_

I reached out and gently stroked his cheek. "But your fights are my fights too."

"Dinner!" Norma's voice echoed through the house as she yelled up to us.

We answer her call and join her and Norman at the dinner table.

"Norma, there's something I need to tell you," Dylan said once we all had food on our plates.

"What's that, dear?" she replied, chewing her food mindfully, and not giving Dylan much attention.

"Caleb never left town," he said.

Norma dropped her fork. "What?" she whispered.

"Well he did, but then he came back, and his van broke down and he had nowhere to go. and-and he's staying at the cabin."

"What?" She shouted this time as she stood from the table. "Did you know about this?" she asked Norman.

Norman nodded meekly and without another word she stormed from the room.

"Norma. Norma!" Dylan tried to go after her, but she ignored him. Grabbing her purse and keys before leaving the house.

Dylan returned to the table where I remained seated. "Won't freak out, huh?"

We finished eating in uncomfortable silence, waiting for Norma to come back, but she never did. I stayed with the boys and we moved into the living room. As time passed, Norman began to panic.

"She's never coming back, is she?" he sobbed.

"She will," Dylan tried to comfort him. "You're different. She's not gonna leave you. It's gonna be okay. She's just mad, she'll calm down."

I could tell Norman was trying to believe him, but he knew as well as I that none of us knew where Norma had gone. Norman excused himself to go to bed and I was left on the couch with Dylan's arm over my shoulders. "Is he gonna be okay?" I asked quietly.

"I hope so," he sighed and pulled me closer.


	13. Chapter 13

I was falling asleep with my head on Dylan's lap when my phone rang.

"Cameron?"

I nearly dropped the phone. It was my dad's voice, but he sounded awful. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I'm alright," he answered. "But I've been shot. I'm in the hospital."

I had stood up and was already trying to shove my feet into my sneakers. "I'm on my way."

"No, you're not," he sighed.

"Already in the car," I lied and hung up. "Dylan, I'm so sorry, but my dad's in the hospital. I have to go."

"Yeah, yeah, is there anything I can do?" he asked.

"No stay here for Norman." I kissed his cheek. "I can call Emma? She'll come over and keep you company."

"Yeah, yeah, okay," he acquiesced because he was flustered. I could see it on his face as he tried to process what was happening and what he should be doing. "Keep me updated," he called as I ran out the door.

I called Emma as I drove and pretty much ordered her to go over although she would have gladly done it anyway. I drove as quickly as I dared and ran through the hospital demanded answers from doctors and nurses until they let me sit by my dad's bed even though it was well after visiting hours.

"It's good to see you, Cam," he breathed.

He hadn't been lying when he had said he was alright. The doctor said that with rest he would make a full recovery and he could probably go home tomorrow night.

"Told you so," my dad smirked.

"Yeah well, you're my dad so if you say you've been shot of course I'm going to drop everything and run," I grumbled. "Go to sleep."

He laughed which quickly turned in to a cough. Concerned, I handed him his cup of water which he accepted. After taking a sip, he closed his eyes and fell asleep. I waited with him for a while, but when it was apparent he was out for the night I left.

"Hello?" I called when I walked back into the Bates' house. When no one answered me I began to wander, searching out Dylan and Emma. I found them in the upstairs bathroom. Emma was on the floor and Dylan was over her, banging on her chest. I leaned in the doorway and wrinkled my nose in anticipation of what would come next. Dylan moved from on top of her and she rolled over, coughing up mucus on the floor. "You okay?" I asked.

Dylan spun around. "Shit! I didn't hear you come in."

Emma nodded, but didn't turn to face me. "Can you hand me a tissue?"

I grabbed a bunch and knelt down handing them to her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you to come."

"Come on. It's not that big of a deal," she smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "You know this happens."

Suddenly feeling really sad, I hugged her.

"Are you okay?" she chuckled.

"I'm really tired," I answered.

"Alright, I'm going home," Emma said and we helped each other off the floor.

After she got into her bug and drove off I collapsed on the couch in the living room. Dylan sat down next to me, letting me recline on him. He might have asked about my dad or tried to talk about Emma, but I didn't hear him. I felt him place a kiss on my temple and then I was asleep. I only woke when Dylan moved to stand up. Groggily, I followed him to the kitchen. Norman was wearing a woman's bathrobe and cooking breakfast. I stood slightly behind Dylan while he hung in the doorway.

"Are you feeling better?" Dylan asked.

"I'm fine. Got some beautiful blackberries the other day. They're on the bottom shelf," he motioned to the fridge.

"Norman?" Dylan tried again.

"Norman's sleeping," he said. "Get me the blackberries, would you?"

Dylan did as he was told, handing Norman the blackberries. "Okay. Can I help you?"

"No I'm fine. Maybe go and wake your brother up so he can eat?" Norman suggested.

I swallowed nervously and reached out to touch Dylan. Of all the shit I had seen and done, I had no idea how to react to something like this.

Dylan reached back and held my hand. "My brother?" he asked, clearly unsure as well.

"Yes, silly," Norman chuckled. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," Dylan answered.

"So run upstairs," Norman shooed him away. "You know how Norman is. He'll sleep all morning if you don't wake him up."

Dylan nodded and walked away, taking me with him. We went upstairs as though we were going to wake Norman up, but when we reached the top landing, we turned to look at each other. "What do we do?" I whispered.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "Go along with it?"

"How do we wake up Norman? He's already awake!" I hissed. I was genuinely scared. I waited, nervously bouncing on the balls of my feet until Dylan could come up with a plan.

"Go back to sleep," he told me finally. "We just need to get him to go back to sleep. When he wakes up; he'll be Norman again."

I went along with it along even though Dylan clearly wasn't sure if it would work. Eventually we were able to get him to sleep and this time we went to bed in Dylan's room. I wanted to stay until Norma returned. "I love you," I mumbled to Dylan.

"I'm going to sleep for three days," he responded, burying his face in my neck.

I laughed, thinking that it was a reasonable declaration.


	14. Chapter 14

"Norma's back. Family dinner. Come over." Dylan's text read.

"Fuck you." I typed back, but obediently grabbed my keys so I could drive to their house.

Emma's orange beetle was still parked in the lot and I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that I would not be the only non-Bates in the house. Norma answered the door and ushered me inside where she enveloped me in a hug. "By the way, your father's here. Resting after his accident," she whispered.

She had lost it, I decided. She came back, but now she's even crazier. "Accident?"

Norma looked at me, clearly not understanding why I was surprised. "He was shot."

"Oh yeah," I wanted to argue that getting shot isn't an accident, but I didn't want to upset this new and gleeful Norma. I was able to wiggle free and took a spot on the couch in between Emma and Dylan. I waited until Norma had gone back into the kitchen before letting everyone know how unsettled I was. "The fuck is going on?"

"Norma came back," Dylan shrugged and threw an arm over my shoulders.

"Yeah I can see that, but why is she so happy?" I whispered. "She hugged me!"

"Maybe she's appreciating what she has," Emma offered.

"Emma: wise beyond her years," I smiled and received appreciative chuckles from the boys.

The doorbell rang and Norma scurried through the living room. "I've got it!" she announced. Yet when she opened the door her shoulders fell, indicating that something was wrong.

I leaned closer to Dylan, trying to get a better look, but was unable to see who she was talking to on the other side of the doorway. Dylan let me practically crawl onto his lap and held my waist.

"I can't see either," he whispered to me while the rest of the room remained silent.

Finally, Norma returned to the living room and Caleb followed her through the front door. "My brother's joining us for dinner," she announced and returned to the kitchen.

Dylan picked me up off of him so he could stand and greet Caleb. The two hugged while I stood awkwardly by Dylan's side. "Uh, you know Cam," Dylan began introductions. "And this is Emma, Norman's friend."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you. I'm gonna go see if Norma needs any help in the kitchen." Emma ran away which only made me think she knew about Dylan's parentage.

Caleb took Emma's seat on the couch and when the rest of us sat back down, I remained practically on top of Dylan to create a space between myself and Caleb. "Sorry if you guys wanted some family time," Caleb said. "I do not belong in a kitchen."

"Well if it's a matter of safety than you should probably stay out here," I said.

"Okay, okay, dinner's in the oven!" Norma announced, having removed her apron.

"Should we be worried? Emma helped," I grinned at her where she stood off Norma's shoulder.

She laughed. "I'm a better cook than you!"

The room looked to my response and I shrugged. "I have no comeback; you're absolutely right."  
They all burst into laughter. Dylan laughed so hard he snorted.

"Do you still play, Norma?" Caleb asked and motioned to the piano when the laughter had died down.

"A bit," she smiled and pretended to be humble.

"Well, go on, let's hear something," Caleb cajoled her.

Norma sat down on the piano bench and sheepishly began to play. Softly, the lyrics came too. Caleb moved to stand beside the piano and joined in on the chorus. Norma's confidence grew and she played louder, sang louder. The atmosphere of the room changed into something lighthearted and joyous. Even Emma and Norman were smiling.

"If this is what'll be expected of me, I'm quitting this relationship now," I told Dylan.

"Relax, we know you can't sing as well as her," he teased.

Emma laughed at me and I flipped her the bird since Norma wasn't looking. She didn't respond, though. Her gaze was focused on something behind me and I turned around to see my father. Slowly, each person in the room noticed him.

Norma finished her song and smiled across the room at him. "Hey!"

"So sorry, I didn't want to interrupt," he said. "I'm feeling better. I'm just gonna call a cab."

"No you're not," Norma told him. "You're gonna stay for dinner."

"No, no," he foolishly tried to protest as though Norma actually knew what "no" meant. "I'm not. I'm not in any shape to."

"Yeah, no no no," Norma had stood and began herding him towards the dining room. "You're staying. The food's ready anyway."

We all moved into the dining room, picking chairs and sitting without a plan. I made sure to sit next to Dylan, but then my dad asked where he was supposed to sit.

"Anywhere, here," Norma motioned loosely and put him in the seat Norman had been heading for.

I glanced around to see if anyone else noticed. Emma shrugged at me and shifted uncomfortably as she was forced to sit next to Norman while he awkwardly glared at my dad.

"To uh, to family and friends," Dylan lifted his glass, trying to diffuse the awkwardness for us.

We all lifted our glasses to the toast and began to eat. The food was delicious and the wine poured freely. I don't know who kept filling my cup, but it was never empty and my dad didn't make one comment about my drunken state at the end of the night. Dylan was in just as bad of shape and so we were forced to spend the night. We stumbled upstairs awkwardly after my dad, Caleb, and Emma had left. I had actually hugged my dad and I kissed Emma. "You're my best friend," I had declared. Dylan and I leaned on each other for support; his arm over my shoulders and mine around his waist. We collapsed onto his bed in a fit of giggles, but I had no idea what was so funny.

In the morning, Dylan didn't come home with me. Instead he went to the farm because he wanted to work on the barn. "You're not hungover at all?" I asked.

"I remembered to drink water." He kissed my forehead. "Drive safe. I'll call you later."

I nodded and headed to my car, making sure to take a bottle of water with me for the trip. I dreaded how long the drive to the apartment would be- just walking to the Jeep seemed far. But I made it, cursing myself for being an idiot last night the entire time.


	15. Chapter 15

The air was cool and dry as it passed over us where we sat on the hood of my Jeep. I felt guilty exhaling my smoke over all the trees.

"How's Dylan?" Emma asked.

She knew that the morning after the family dinner he had disappeared for a few days. That part I was fine with; it was the not calling that bothered me. He's been back for a few days now, but I've been making him earn his way back into my favor. "He's alive. We're lucky, ya know?" I said veering the conversation with a sharp left turn. "Who else gets to grow up with a view like this? We could have been born in Kansas."

She snorted. "Yeah. Anyone who isn't from Kansas is lucky. And I'm lucky. I can get a lung transplant."

I looked at her, not sure if she was fucking with me. After she had reassured me that she was serious, I hugged her. "That's great!"

"Is it?" she asked.

"Why wouldn't it be? I always thought you might out live me, but now it'll be guaranteed," I grinned.

"But I could reject the lungs! And if I don't I'll spend the rest of my life being poked at and having tests done. I just don't know if I want to," she mumbled.

"Everything we do involves a little risk," I said and kept an arm around her shoulders. "And if it works and you spend half of your life in a lab; at least you'll have a life. Besides, you have to stick around. I don't have any other friends."

She chuckled again and wiped the tears that were beginning to spill from her eyes. "Yeah, you are kinda pathetic," she laughed.

"Guess what?" I asked as I bounced into the apartment.

Dylan poked his head out from the bathroom with a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. "What?"

"Emma's going to get a lung transplant!" I declared.

"That's great!" He disappeared back into the bathroom where I could hear him spit into the sink and toss aside his toothbrush. He emerged again with open arms, allowing me to hug him.

"I thought she was so much further down on the list, though," I continued. "The wealthy that can afford it are usually on the top. Wait, you knew about this." I had spotted the look on his face; the lack of surprise. He was more surprised now that I had caught him.

"Yeah, um, remember when I disappeared for a few days?" he asked.

"You've disappeared a few times." I glared at him.

"This time I didn't even call. I was doing a job."

A job. Probably one of the most closely related phrases to criminal activity. "What kind of job?"

"I ran some guns," he answered. "And I used the cash to make a donation to the hospital for Emma."

It was the single, kindest act I had ever witnessed and I couldn't wrap my mind around it. "I-I don't get it. That was stupidly dangerous! And a lot of money!"

"Well, Emma is your only friend," he said.

I laughed because it was true, but it still didn't get him off the hook for keeping secrets.

"And I thought you'd like to have a bridesmaid," he continued.

"What are you talking about?" I asked. I wasn't sure if I had heard him properly, but he was on one knee and held a velvet box in front of him.

He opened the lid of it to reveal a gold ring with an obscenely large diamond. "There was some money left over."

I had no words. My heart swelled and I thought it might explode. I put a hand on each side of his face and kissed him. I pulled him to his feet and as close to me as physics would allow.

"So you'll marry me?" he asked in between kisses.

"Shit, Dylan. Yes."

We showed up out front of the looming house on the hill. I couldn't do this. I wasn't sure which was scarier: the idea of Norma or the actual woman. "What if we eloped instead? Or we could just go to the courthouse, sign some papers, get my name changed."

"We made plans to have dinner with her," Dylan sighed. "You're not really nervous, are you? You've killed a man."

"But I can't just stab your mom," I whined.

Dylan held my hand and we began ascending the steps to the house just as Norma came flying towards us. "Norman's missing!" she cried. "Your brother's missing."

"Oh thank god," I breathed. "I'll help look," I told Norma. "What can I do?"

"Oh, thank you, Cameron." Norma hugged me. "I don't know."

I made to follow her into her car with Dylan, but he held me back. "We have to tell her at some point," he whispered.

"I know, but not this exact moment," I said. "We'll tell her, then my father, but first we should make sure your brother is okay."

Dylan looked at the state his mother was in and let me go because he knew I was right.

We couldn't figure out what had happened to Norman. It was like he had vanished. My theory was that he had finally had enough and ran away like Bradley. Hell, maybe he ran to Bradley. But even without Norman, the days kept passing and today Emma was getting a new set of lungs.

I pulled up to the motel and parked to the side like I normally did. The monstrous hole that was supposed to turn into a pool remained dangerously unfilled. Not a second after my feet had crunched onto the gravel, Norma screeched to a halt in her own car. She stormed out from behind the wheel in a frantic mess. She didn't seem to notice me, only Dylan who was coming down the walkway. I assumed her behavior meant Norman was still missing.

"He's in a psychiatric unit!" Norma cried. "We're taking your car."

"What?" Dylan was confused. He had been coming to meet me. "No we're not."

"Fine. It doesn't matter. We'll take mine." She dug her keys back out of her purse.

"No, I'm not going with you," Dylan tried to explain.

"What?" Norma barked.

"I'm taking Cameron to Portland."

Norma looked over her shoulder and finally noticed me. "Oh hi. Why do you guys have to go to Portland right now?"

"Emma's having a lung transplant," I answered.

"Oh," she sighed. "Oh, why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to lay it on you when you were so terrified about Norman," Dylan said.

"Well, I hope she's okay," Norma frowned. "You two be safe."

I should have asked about Norman. I only realized this, though, after having climbed into Dylan's truck and pulling away from the motel. I rolled the window down and then back up and then halfway down and little bit further down and then mostly up. I couldn't get comfortable. Dylan was right to not let me drive; I was twitchy. But I didn't know what to do with myself either, being in the passenger's seat. I stared straight ahead as I tried to combat motion sickness. My hands rested awkwardly in my lap while I twisted the ring around my finger. It was a foreign object and therefore subject to fidgeting. It didn't feel right on my hand. Dylan reached over and took my hand in his with a gentle squeeze. He brought my fingers up to his lips and kissed them without taking his eyes off the road.

"What are we doing?" I asked.

"I thought you wanted to be there for Emma? Emotional support," he answered.

"Why are you coming?" I varied the question.

"To be your emotional support."

I took my eyes off the road to smile at him. We really did work with each other. Yet still, I had a pit in my stomach. I knew what it was: Dylan had made me soft, tame, domestic. _Is it possible to lose yourself?_ I didn't know if a part of me had just been misplaced or taken out into the woods and shot while on its knees. I knew he hadn't meant to, but it was so easy with him. I no longer did stupid, risky shit and instead expected him to call if he wasn't coming back to the apartment. I hated that I didn't hate it. And for the first time, I didn't know how to tell him how I felt.


	16. Chapter 16

*A/N: I know it's shorter than the others and I know it's taken forever. For that I apologize. I'm only halfway through the season, so this isn't a planned story it grows as I write and I don't have much time to write, but I will keep posting I just ask for your patience.

I couldn't imagine a more hellish place than the waiting room of a hospital. Emma's dad, Will, was glad to see us there, but he didn't seem to want to speak. I thought the best way to pass the time would be to read the magazines stacked up on the table, but Dylan held my hand and I didn't want to pull away.

The sound of a rolling suitcase made me look up from the spot on the floor I had been staring at. I had never met the woman who now stood in front of us, but the resemblance was impossible to miss.

"You're Emma's mom," I accused.

"What are you doing here?" Will frowned.

"You told me about this," she replied. She seemed confused and ignored me and Dylan.

Will stood to better confront the woman. "Yeah, so you'd be aware. Not so that you'd come. She's gonna be very fragile when she wakes up and I don't want you here."

"I scraped up the money to come here. I'm not leaving. I can stay if I want to."

Emma never talked about her mother. I don't think she even remembers her. All I knew was that she left and I agreed with her father that she had no right to be her.

"Don't make me throw you out," Will challenged.

I pressed closer to Dylan. I had never seen Will angry before. He was always amiable to Emma and her friends. He was either smiling or worried, but never mad, never mean. Seeing him irate made me nervous.

"You haven't changed," Emma's mom shook her head and found a seat on the far side of the room.

With a sigh, Will sat back down. "Do you think I was a bit harsh?" he asked as she walked away.

I shook my head. "Are you alright?"

He nodded. "I just worry about Emma."

"She's strong," I reminded him.

"Mr. Decody?"

We all turned to look at the man in the labcoat. After their discussion, Will relayed the information to us: "She made it through. Doctor said it was textbook. We just have to see what the next 24 hours bring."

I was so excited to hear the news that I hugged Will, throwing my arms around his midsection. He chuckled softly and hugged me back. I let Dylan hug me too as we returned to our seats. "So when can we see her?" I asked.

"Soon, I hope," Will answered.

With nothing to do once again, I pulled my phone from my jeans pocket. There were red bubble notifications everywhere. I had ten missed calls; two voicemails. All of them were from my dad. "I'll be right back," I told Dylan, kissing his cheek. I went to the cafeteria where cell phones were technically allowed and listened to the first message.

"Cameron. Where are you? Why aren't you picking up? This is important. I need to talk to you. Now."

It was urgent, but vague and I was thoroughly confused. I played the second hoping for more clarity.

"Please. Please, answer. I'm starting to worry. Call me back. I'm going to send an officer to find you."

I immediately hung up and dialed his number.

"Cameron?" he answered.

"What's wrong? What's the emergency?" I asked.

"I need you to come over. We need to talk," he said.

I groaned. "I can't. I'm in Portland. Emma's having surgery."

"Fuck," he cursed under his breath. "Fine. Come by as soon as you get back; don't go to your place."

He hung up before I could call him out on how ridiculous he sounded.

Dylan's POV

I followed Cam from the waiting room, probably more worried than she was. I waited outside the cafeteria for her to finish making her calls. She paced as she held the phone to her ear. Something about the way she held herself made her seem like more of an adult than me. She hung up the phone and caught me staring.

Cam didn't seem upset as she walked over and began picking at the collar of my shirt. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"That's what I was going to ask you."

"I don't know," she said. "My dad's being cryptic. He wants me home."

"Should we go?" I asked. I wondered if something could be wrong with my own family. Norma and Romero were often in trouble together.

Cameron leaned into me, putting her head on my chest. "It feels like I met you so long ago," she murmured. "Whatever happened to just smoking on the motel porch?"

"Life," I answered. But she was right, suddenly everything seemed more complicated.

"Life sucks," she sniffed.

"Cam, I never met anyone more equipped to deal with life than you," I told her.

She kissed me, then, soft and quick. "We should go back." She took my hand and I let her lead me down the hall. "You know we'll have to do wedding planning. Did you think about that?"

I laughed at her. "We're not eloping!"

"Worth a shot," she shrugged, smiling and my heart swelled.


End file.
